Lagos barber dies after 28 days in police custody

A Lagos-based barber, Babajide Adelowo, has died a day after he was released from police custody, where he allegedly spent 28 days following his arrest over suspected possession of firearms.

PUNCH Metro learnt that operatives of the X-Squad of the Lagos State Police Command arrested Adelowo at his shop in Iba Estate, Iyana-Iba area of the state, on October 6 and released him on Tuesday, November 3.

The family, however, accused the operatives of subjecting him to severe torture while in detention.

They alleged that the barber was repeatedly suspended from a weightlifting rod with his hands and legs tied, leaving him unable to walk or feed himself without assistance.

The family also alleged that the police arrested him without a warrant, seized items from his shop and restricted his access to his family and lawyers during his detention.

Narrating the circumstances surrounding the arrest to PUNCH Metro on Saturday, the deceased’s uncle, Samson Adelowo, said, “They came to arrest my brother on the grounds that he owned firearms. They searched the shop, broke the ceiling and opened the water tank, but they could not find anything.

“What I found disturbing was that they also took his generator, chairs and other materials from the shop. What was the connection between the allegation against him and the items they removed from his shop?

They seized his phone and did not allow him to contact anybody in his family. We had to engage lawyers to follow up on the matter, but throughout the 28 days he spent there, the lawyers were only allowed to see him about two or three times, with restricted access at other times.”

Samson further alleged that his nephew’s wife was threatened with arrest when she attempted to visit him.

According to him, the estate chairman, who accompanied the lawyers to meet the police team, was detained and made to part with N50,000 to secure his release.

“The estate chairman went with the lawyers to meet the team leader. He explained that Babajide was known in the community as a peaceful person and that he was one of the estate’s security officers.

“But instead of listening to him, the officer allegedly threatened to detain him. The chairman eventually paid N50,000 before he was allowed to go.”

He said Adelowo’s condition deteriorated while in detention before he was eventually released to his family.

Adelowo’s wife, Mariam, told our correspondent on Saturday that her husband could barely walk and appeared extremely weak when the police handed him over to the family by the roadside.

She said the police brought him to the PWD bus stop in a vehicle and helped him into the family’s car before handing over a referral note from the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, alongside a bag containing medical supplies.

“When we saw him, he could not even walk properly. He was so pale and fragile. The police officers were the ones guiding him into our car. They told us to handle him carefully and take him straight to the hospital.

They handed over a referral note from the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, and a nylon bag containing drips, plaster and some other medical items. I still have the bag with me. When they handed him to us, they said the ailment was already in his body, but my husband sharply objected and said he had never had the symptoms,” she said.

The widow said her husband began narrating his experience in detention while they were taking him to the hospital.

“He told me that they would tie his hands and legs to a weightlifting rod and hang him for about 30 or 40 minutes. He said they did that to him three times. He also told me that they squeezed his hands with an instrument until his muscles and veins were affected.

“He said he became so weak that he could not feed himself or even take care of his personal needs. The other suspects in the cell were the ones helping him to eat and bathe. He also told me that he fainted four times while in detention,” she said.

The wife added that the last incident occurred on the day he was taken to the hospital after other detainees reportedly raised the alarm.

She said he regained consciousness to find himself covered in blood and faeces, while his clothes were soaked in blood.

“He told me that the last time he fainted, he woke up and saw blood all over him. He had also passed stool on himself. The other people in the cell were shouting for help before he was taken to the hospital by the police on Sunday, which was two days before he was released to us. It was from the hospital that he called me and said he was in the hospital. He also ended the call immediately, and I could not reach him again.

“When I saw him after his release, I noticed that the clothes he was wearing were not his. He told me that his clothes had been soaked in blood and that the police had bought another set of clothes for him,” she added.

The wife said the family took him to the hospital after his release, where he received a blood transfusion.

She said his condition deteriorated, and he began vomiting blood and experiencing difficulty breathing.

Samson said the family was told that the deceased needed six pints of blood, adding that they were able to obtain one pint before his condition worsened.

The wife also alleged that her husband told her that a fellow detainee had identified him to the police as someone who kept firearms.

She said the detainee later apologised to her husband while in custody, claiming that he had been asked to identify him.

The widow, who said the couple had one child, described her late husband as a caring and responsible man who provided for the family.

She said the four weeks he spent in detention placed an enormous burden on her, as she had to take on responsibilities she was not accustomed to handling.

“My husband was a very responsible man. He took care of his family 100 per cent and took full responsibility for everything. When he was detained, I had to start doing things I had never done before.

“My son kept asking me, ‘When is Daddy coming back?’ I kept assuring him that his father would return. Unfortunately, he did not see his father again until the day after he died, when he saw his corpse. It has not been easy for us,” she said.

Demanding justice, the widow said the police had not contacted her or the family’s lawyer since her husband’s release to ask about his condition.

“I want justice for my husband. They released someone who was almost dying, yet they did not call to ask about his health. They did not contact even the lawyer or me to find out how he was doing,” she said.

A medical report issued by the hospital where he was admitted, dated November 5, 2026, stated that Adelowo was brought to the facility on November 3 with complaints including bleeding, vomiting blood, abdominal pain, general body weakness and anaemia.

The report, addressed to the Head of Pathology at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, said he appeared acutely ill, lethargic, pale and dehydrated, with mild tenderness around his navel.

The hospital said an assessment of symptomatic anaemia secondary to upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding, complicated by haemorrhagic shock, was made.

It stated that he was admitted, blood samples were collected, and treatment commenced.

“Adelowo received one pint of blood without complications and was awaiting a second pint when he began convulsing and vomiting. Although the symptoms stopped spontaneously, his oxygen level subsequently dropped, prompting the hospital to place him on supplemental oxygen and refer him to a tertiary health facility.

“About an hour later, he began gasping, prompting medical personnel to commence cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

“However, all attempts at resuscitation proved abortive.”

The report added that he was later clinically declared dead and his relative was informed with due empathy.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Adekunle Taofeek, has called on the Inspector-General of Police and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to order an independent investigation into the arrest, detention, alleged torture and death of Adelowo.

The group also demanded the identification and prosecution of police officers attached to the CP-X Squad who might have been involved in the alleged abuses, including unlawful detention, extortion and denial of medical care.

It called for an independent autopsy, with the family’s involvement, to establish the cause of death and determine whether alleged physical abuse or denial of medical attention contributed to it.

The movement further demanded an investigation into the alleged demand for N10m and collection of N50,000 from an estate chairman, as well as the recovery of a generator, chairs and other belongings allegedly seized from Gabriel’s barbing shop.

It urged the authorities to protect the deceased’s family and witnesses from intimidation, while ensuring that the bereaved family receives justice and appropriate compensation if liability is established.

The group said no criminal allegation justified torture, extortion or inhuman treatment, insisting that suspects should be investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law.

It added that the police uniform should not shield any officer from accountability, noting that Gabriel left behind a wife, young children and ageing parents who deserved answers over his death.

When contacted on Sunday, the command spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, said the deceased was not subjected to torture.

“An official statement will be issued on that tomorrow,” she added